Coal Towns

Most often, coal towns have been identified by their close proximity to coal mines, but in reality, coal towns were much more complex. The earliest examples appeared in the 1840s, as the Industrial Revolution sparked a demand for coal, and during the next century, coal operators created thousands of towns across the country. They were frequently established in rural settings, dictated by the location of the coal seam, but the ultimate location, growth, and demise of a coal town also depended on the intent of the mine owner. Beginning essentially as frontier camps, coal towns changed over the years, with company towns becoming popular in the late 1880s, followed by model towns in the 1910s, ultimately yielding to independent communities by the 1950s.

Many of the earliest coal camps had limited company influence. When developers acquired a coal [Page 166]seam, they also acquired the surface rights. They wanted to own the land so that nothing would interfere with the mine's growth. Upon this land, however, close to the mine's mouth, a small town would spring up. Most early coal operators gave little thought to developing a town, leaving that task to workers. They were more interested in selling coal. The operators, however, did see the value of company stores, and these became a standard feature in coal towns, often serving as the physical, social, and economic center of the town.

With little company direction, the first towns often took on a haphazard appearance, with a variety of accommodations, from tents and shacks to clapboard houses, springing up wherever the landscape allowed. The population of these early coal towns varied from 100 to possibly as many as 1,000, with men dominating the gender mix. Transient miners often came to new locations, and these men were generally single. Boardinghouses then became a fixture in the early camps. This pattern of frontier camps, where the coal company controlled the ground and ran a store but allowed independent influences, spread from East to West as coal mining spread.

As the coal industry matured by the 1880s, many companies decided to develop full company towns and take firmer control of their communities. Here, the operators built not only stores, but also houses. They eliminated any competing businesses and allowed only employees and their families to live in their towns. Mine superintendents ran these communities, from collecting rent to providing law and order. This second generation of coal towns also took on a more ordered appearance. If the town sat in a valley, a neat row of houses generally ran down the valley. If it sat on flat terrain, the houses were placed in a regular grid pattern, with dirt streets defining the blocks. The houses in each camp looked alike, but they often varied from camp to camp, from fourroom bungalows to shotgun houses. So many coal companies developed full company towns that coal mining and company towns became synonymous.

Coal companies established full company towns for three reasons. First, they saw company housing as a way to attract new workers, especially immigrant families. Indeed, the number of men and women in these communities became nearly equal. Second, operators saw company housing as a means to bring more order to the workforce. A miner could be evicted on short notice from a companyowned house, discouraging labor disturbances. And third, companies saw potential profit in renting houses.

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